Thursday

5/25 - 280.8 lbs, 33.9% bf. Yes my food intake on Wednesday was not good, and it shows. At least the body fat percentage is dropping. Today could've been better, so let's see what happened.

Breakfast
Instant Breakfast - 220 cal
Croissant - 470 cal

Snack
Wheat Thins - 125 cal

Lunch
2 Turkey Pita Sandwiches - 400 cal
4 Hershey's Kisses - 90 cal

Snack. I had to go out to a meeting in the afternoon, and I got a wicked craving for McDonalds fries. Stupid stupid stupid.
Medium Fries - 350 cal

Dinner
Budget Gourmet Spaghetti - 280 cal
Chips and Dip - 300 cal
2 Toll House Cookies - 220 cal

Total for the day - 2455 cal. Not good to hit an upswing right before the weekend. Hopefully I'll be able to work out more and do a preemptive first strike against the inevitable restaurant assault GF has planned.

Wednesday

5/24 - 279.0 lbs, 34.5% bf. Without being too graphic, I would guess the timing of when I weighed myself explains the .2 lbs I gained. So it goes.

Breakfast
Instant Breakfast - 220 cal
Croissant - 470 cal (I was out of oatmeal)

Snack
Wheat Thins - 125 cal

Lunch
Jack in the Box Southwestern Chicken Pita - 230 cal. This is one of the best fast food items in terms of calories vs. taste and satisfaction that I've ever come across. The spices and flavoring are good, you get a lot of stuff, and it doesn't cost too much. The only downside is that it isn't very road friendly. Pitas generally aren't that durable, and because this stuff is all sauteed (chicken, corn, onions, etc.) there's some grease that winds up in the pita, and over time can compromise the structural integrity of the pita. Eat quickly.
Small Curly Fries - 270 cal
4 Hersheys Caramel Kisses - 90 cal

Snack
Wheat Thins - 125 cal

Dinner
Beef Teriyaki Combo dinner - est 800 cal
Baskin Robbins Chocolate Mousse Royale (1 scoop) - 400 cal. Sue me. GF wanted ice cream, she got ice cream. At least I didn't get a full sundae!

Total for the day - 2730 cal. Not good. Dog walks were shorter today, too, so we'll see how the Thursday weigh-in goes.


Again, thanx to Alex from whom I shamelessly stole another funny pic.

Tuesday

Still inching down.

5/23 - 278.8 lbs, 34.6% bf. It's like I'm playing micro stakes Limit Hold 'Em. I may not be making huge moves, but I'm moving in the right direction.

Breakfast
Instant Breakfast - 220 cal
Oatmeal - 150 cal

Snack
Croissant - 470 cal

Lunch
Campbells Chicken Noodle Soup - 180 cal
Turkey Pita Sandwich - 200 cal
4 Hershey's Caramel Kisses - 90 cal

Snack
Reduced Fat Wheat Thins - 250 cal

Dinner
Budget Gourmet Angel Hair Pasta - 240 cal
Chips and Dip - 300 cal

Total for the day, 2100 cal. Low limit grinding. So it goes.

Monday

5/22 - 279.6, 34.8% bf. And once again we're moving in the right direction. I guess all that walking around Doheny State Beach at the Blues Festival paid off. We'll see how Monday turns out.

Breakfast
Oatmeal - 150 cal
Instant Breakfast - 220 cal

Snack
Reduced Fat Wheat Thins - 250 cal

Lunch
Taco Bell Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito - 490 cal
Taco Bell Mexican Pizza - 540 cal
4 Hershey's Kisses - 90 cal

Originally I was going to have a turkey pita sandwich and some soup, but the soup can was damaged and I couldn't trust the quality of the contents, so...I went out. Bad me.

Snack
Wheat Thins - 125 cal

Dinner
Organic Chicken Flautas - 480 cal

Total - 2345 cal. If I would've eaten what I intended to eat, I would've saved over 500 cal. Meh. Tuesday is a whole new day.

The Weekend

So. Lotsa food. Let's see what happened.

5/20 - 280.2 lbs, 34.3% bf. Bleah. Dropped the doggie off to be groomed, so no breakfast. While we waited to pick her up, we walked around downtown La Jolla so GF could shop. Probably a solid hour of walking. I'll take it.

Lunch
GF took me to Azul La Jolla for their tapas buffet. I'm sure I ate well over a thousand cal.

Dinner
Wokked Kobe Beef - est. 450 cal
Fried Rice - est. 500 cal

Dessert
Gelato - est. 150 cal

Total for the day, around 2600 cal

5/21 - 280.2 lbs, 35.0% bf. The walking seemed to have done the trick. Today we drove up to Dana Point in the heart of The OC (just south of Laguna Beach) for the Doheney Blues Festival. Ton of bands, right on the beach...all good. Lots of walking from the parking lot to the festival, so maybe I'll survive the weekend relatively unscathed. We got into Dana Point around 10:30 a.m., so breakfast and lunch became brunch. Amazing how that works.

Brunch
Omelete (ham, mushroom, provolone) - est 600 cal.
Side of bacon - 150 cal
Sourdough Toast - 400 cal

Dinner
Udon Noodles and Prawns - 650 cal

Dessert
Brownie and ice cream - 500 cal

Total for day - 2300 cal.

The morning should be interesting...

End of the week

Been a little busy these past few days. Late nights on the poker tables have kept me from posting these past few days. But the weight has been going in the right direction, so I'm happy. Wish I could say the same about the poker bankroll.

5/17 - 280.6 lbs and 35.0% bf. Despite the advice I gave to Awe the other day, I think the pizza got me. Today wasn't too bad, though.

Breakfast
Oatmeal (150 cal) and instant breakfast (220 cal)

Snack
Wheat Thins (250 cal)

Lunch
Salad (90 cal) and Lean Pocket (280 cal) and 4 caramel hershey's kisses (90 cal)

Snack
Apple (90 cal) peanuts (200 cal)

Dinner
Whole Foods Cashew Chicken (440 cal)

Total for the day - 1810 cal, my best day yet (when not suffering from food poisoning.

5/18 - 278.4 lbs, 35.1% bf. And Wednesday paid off. Traffic was extremely screwed up, which allowed me to miss the muffin guy that comes thru the office every morning. Who knew a jackknifed semi truck carrying gravel (no major injuries, btw) could be beneficial?

Breakfast
Oatmeal (150 cal) and instant breakfast (220 cal)

Lunch
Healthy Choice Chicken Noodle Soup (220 cal), Lean Pocket (280 cal), a slice of pepperoni pizza (est 350 cal), and 4 hershey's kisses (90 cal)

Snack
Peanuts (200 cal)

Dinner
Healthy Choice Country Glazed Chicken Meal (230 cal) 4 slices of low fat cheese (180 cal)

Total for the day, approx. 1920 cal.

5/19 - 278.6 lbs and 34.9% bf. Thursday's dog walks weren't as long as normal (doggie was hungry and wanted to get home to eat...don't we all).


Breakfast
I was out of instant breakfast, so I had my croissant (470 cal)

Snack
Wheat Thins (250 cal)

Lunch
Turkey breast sandwich on sourdough (roughly 400 cal) and 4 hershey's kisses (90 cal)

Snack
Wheat Thins (250 cal)

Dinner
GF wanted to go to California Pizza Kitchen We split the spinach artichoke dip (250 cal), the field greens salad (175 cal), and the BBQ chicken pizza (600 cal)

Total for the day: 2485 cal. All things being equal, I expected worse. Hopefully the scale will be kind in the morning. (thanx to Alex at Something's Gotta Give, from whom I shamelessly stole this pic)

Tuesday

5/16 - 279.6 lbs and 35.3% bf. And the downward slide continues. Big milestone...dropped below 280 without the assistance of food poisoning! Didn't make the gym on Monday, but I made it tonight. Felt really good.

Breakfast:
Carnation Instant Breakfast - 220 cal

Snack:
Croissant - 470 cal

Lunch:
Submarina Triple Play sandwich - 480 cal

Snack:
Apple - 90 cal
Reduced Fat Wheat Thins - 250 cal

Dinner:
1/2 Small Pepperoni Pizza (Round Table) - 490 cal

Total: 2000 cal. Not great, but not too bad. Consistent with other days, and I have been slowly losing the weight.

Monday

5/15 - 280.6 lbs, 35.8% bf. Exactly the same as Sunday morning before we hit the buffet. Breakfast was normal (370 cal), croissant for a snack (450 cal). Lunch was a lean pocket and my salad (370 cal). I had a BRC burrito from El Pollo Loco as a snack (500 cal). Dinner was some mini pizza bagels (440 cal), for a little over 2100 cal for the day. Hopefully Tuesday will not be so dangerous.

Update

5/12 - 280.0 lbs, 35.2% bf. And the downward trek continues. Didn't do my usual routine, so I had a croissant (damn, they're good). Then I actually had to go home and wait for the plumber to come and fix a leaking water heater. Fortunately, it was nothing like StB's recent troubles with leaking pipes. Anyway, I had my salad mix for 90 cal, and a pita sandwich for approximately 300 cal. I did have some chips and salsa as a snack, adding roughly another 300 cal. Dinner was roughly 800 cal of sushi, followed by roughly 600 cal of dessert from Extraordinary Desserts. All told, I probably inhaled 2560 cal for the day. Not good.

5/13 - 280.2 lbs and 36.0% bf. I guess the gym helped. I did a bad thing, though. GF and I were pet sitting for the weekend, so I went to go let the critters out into the yard for the day. I gave in to the siren song of 2 McMuffins for $2.50. I know BSN will feel my pain. Not feeling too hungry, I had some chips and salsa around lunch. Frankly, I was more focusing on the bloodbath I was taking at the poker tables, than I was on eating anything. Dinner was at Red Lobster. GF and I shared a helping of some lobster flauta things, a caesar salad, and their lobster chops. I have no idea how many calories I consumed, but I'm sure it was way too much.

5/14 - 280.6 lbs and 35.8% bf. Long walks with the doggie seem to have been helping minimize the damage. I don't know how today could possibly be minimized, though. Mother's Day. GF and I went to a brunch buffet at Loews Coronado Bay Resort (we celebrated with my mother last week, before her new round of chemo started. She's doing fairly well, all things being equal). Omelet bar, sushi, rolls, various cheeses, smoked salmon, 5 different kinds of caviar, tortellini, prime rib, turkey breast, ham, jumbo shrimp cocktail, crab legs, salads, taco bar, champagne, and one of the most evil dessert spreads I've ever seen, including a chocolate fountain with skewers of marshmallows and rice krispy treats looking for all the world like Willy Wonka's own version of ka-bobs! I don't even want to speculate how many calories I consumed. Because it was brunch, we eventually did get hungry again, and shared some Pad Thai and a Spicy Vegetable dish. We shall see what Monday looks like.

To sum up the week:

Weigh in on 5/7 - 283.0 lbs. 0 lbs lost from start.
Weigh in on 5/14 - 280.6 lbs. 2.4 lbs lost for week. 2.4 lbs lost from start.

Pounds to go: 40.6 lbs.

Thursday

5/11 - 280.2 lbs, 35.3% bf. Marching in the right direction...here's hoping I can keep it going.

On the road, had a croissant sandwich for breakfast (450 cal). No time for snacking.

Lunch was a cobb salad, for right around 500 cal.

Caved in and had some Jack in the Box fries (350 cal).

Dinner was this Ethnic Gourmet organic chicken, rice and veggie meal (300 cal), followed up by some chips and 5 layer organic Mexican dip (500 cal).

All told, around 2100 cal for the day. I'm still eating more calories than I'd like, but not nearly what I used to eat. If I can continue to build this into some consistency, I should do pretty well with the weight loss.

Update

5/9 - 282.8 lbs, 34.3% bf. Considering how Monday went, with the ballgame and everything, I'll take a .8 lb gain.

The day started off scary. I didn't take my breakfast or oatmeal in, but somebody brought in donuts. Mmmmmm, donuts. So I had two for a total of 450 cal. Mid morning I had some reduced fat wheat things, for around 280 cal. Lunch, I made a couple of pita sandwiches, total between the two was around 400 cal. I caved to the chocolate demons (a fix is in order) and had a haagen dazs bar (360 cal). I had an apple for an afternoon snack (90 cal), hit the gym on the way home, and had a chicken burrito salad from Chipotle, for around 560 cal. All told, a little over 2100 cal.

5/10 - 281.8 lbs, 35.3% bf. I'm hoping I'm getting into a steady pattern of small daily drops. Instant breakfast on the way in, and a croissant upon arrival. Wheat thins as a snack, and the pita sandwiches again for lunch. To address the chocolate fetish, I bought a bag of caramel-filled Hershey's Kisses. They taste great, and the caramel ones have the fewest calories of any of the Kiss family. 4 of them only total 90 cal and 4g of fat. Another apple, and the gf made (turkey) bacon, lettuce and avocado sandwiches for dinner. Rough guess, 600 cal for the sandwich. Today, around 2100 cal for the day. I didn't hit the gym, so we'll see if that made the difference yesterday.

5/8

5/7 - 283.0 lbs, 35.6% bf. Yup. It's all back, right where I left it. Yes I gained back what I'd lost during my illness, but that was to be expected. Lunch was this Italian buffet that my mother wanted to go to for an early Mother's Day (long story). The food was pretty good. I tried to be careful in what I ate, but it was difficult. I'm all about carbs, pasta in particular, so an Italian buffet is a dangerous place. Rough guess, I shoved around 1000 cal down my neck. Dinner was sort of better. Nachos, bad (but soooo tasty). 1/2 veggie burger with a side salad, not so bad. Still, that added roughly another 1500 cal to the day, for a total of 2500 cal, plus or minus. Not the way to lose weight.

5/8 - 282.0 lbs, 34.8% bf. Hmmm. Down a bit because the wind beneath my wings made me lighter on the scale. I honestly thought the Italian buffet (I thought only the Chinese did that) would have killed me. Who knew? Monday was not going to be a good day. Caved into the muffin guy and had a croissant, in addition to my usual breakfast regimen. Breakfast - 380 cal. Snack - 470 cal. Lunch was soup and salad, for a total of 310 cal. Needed a chocolate fix and had a Butterfinger bar for an additional 270 cal. Some reduced fat Wheat Thins as an afternoon snack added another 250 cal. Then came "dinner". My company has season tickets to the San Diego Padres. I got the tickets for tonight, so I went with my dad and a buddy of mine. Started off with a hot dog (350 cal) and an MGD beer (150 cal). Then came a plate of nachos (approx. 800 cal) and another beer. All told, I consumed almost 3000 cal today! At least I'll get to hit the gym for the next few days. And yes, the Padres swept the Cubs and continued their 9 game winning streak! w00t!

Curse the influences in my life!

5/6 - 280.2 lbs and 35.7% bf. Damn. Between the Marie Callendars, the weekend dinner, and recovering from my illness, I gained back 3 pounds. And that weigh in was after hitting the gym in the morning!

So. Walked the dog. Hit the gym. Went to the store (think Natural Cheetos). Came home and had a dry box of Trix cereal (120 cal). Lunch was shrimp fajitas. Calorie King's database puts the average shrimp fajita meal at somewhere around 1000 cal. Damn. Dinner was Vietnamese food. Soup, a noodle dish, and this wok-seared filet mignon dish that was outrageously good. Rough guess, another 1000 cal. Dessert, small piece of pie (300 cal), and I'm at another 2400 cal. Sunday is another day. We shall see...

A Sign of the Apocalypse

So I'm wandering thru the grocery store this morning, buying the usual crap. Bottled water. Pita bread for sandwiches. Soup. Diet Coke. It was near this last item that I stared deep into the abyss. In a quick flash of insight before my eyes exploded, I whipped out the camera phone and shot this picture:

NATURAL CHEETOS?!?!? Holy Hebrew National Franks, Batman! I was unaware that there was anything natural about them in the first place! Once I slipped the Thermonuclear Protection of my Mil Spec Oakley Eye Jackets over my suffering eyes, I was able to read some of the information on the bag. First of all, it said "no artificial colors. Huh? Cheetos are about nothing BUT artificial colors! Do you really think that shade of cheeto orange occurs in nature? Apparently they use organic flour and white cheddar cheese (byproducts, I assume). And in keeping with the whole organic-natural-healthy vibe, instead of an obviously clear plastic bag, the bag was still plastic but had that brown paper bag appearance thing going on at the top and around the label. Be afraid, be very afraid, as they also had other varieties such as Natural Tostitos chips. I'm sure Natural Doritos aren't too far behind.

5/5 - 277.0 lbs. and 35.0% bf. And the slide continues. The day started off correctly, with the instant breakfast and oatmeal morning. Lunch consisted of another mixed greens salad with fat free ranch dressing and a Lean Pocket Cheeseburger sandwich thing. Then came the afternoon (cue bells of doom). We had a going away party for one of the employees. We had Marie Callendar Banana Cream Pie and French Silk Pie. Curse them all!!! I had one piece of the French Silk pie, because I'm a sucker for anything chocolate. Damn them to hell! Dinner consisted of a variety of sushi rolls. As best as I can estimate from Calorie King, probably 800 cal worth. And on the weekend the gf gets to go out and have dessert at one of several swanky dessert places. I managed to get away with having half of a slice of this Grand Marnier Chocolate Truffle cake. I'm lucky if that half alone was only 400 cal. All told, probably around 2500 cal for the day! We'll see what the morning holds...

5/4

Weigh-in on the morning of 5/4. 278.8 lbs. Let the purging continue. I did go to work on Thursday, but I was still feeling the effects of whatever it was. I ate, but for some reason (hmmm) it was a lot easier to control my intake, selection, etc. I guess when you're not really feeling good about the idea of eating, it's easy to not eat. Shocking revelation, I know. On to the nitty gritty.

Breakfast was the usual combination of the Carnation Instant Breakfast on the drive in, and Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal after arriving at work.

Breakfast - 380 cal

Lunch was a mixed iceberg salad with fat free ranch dressing totaling 90 cal, Healthy Choice Chicken Noodle soup for an additional 220 cal, and an Oreo ice cream bar. Damn those chocolate demons, but surprisingly only 260 cal.

Lunch - 570 cal

Afternoon snack. I brought an apple to eat, but the evil people in the office I like to call everybody, decided to bake Otis Spunkermeyer cookies. I work for a home builder, and if you've ever gone thru a new home model tour, often the developers will put out cookies and bottled water and other stuff. So we had the frozen dough in the office kitchen, and the office manager decided that cookies sounded great. So I had two. Amazingly, only 96 cal for the two of them. Calorie King had my Red Delicious apple pegged at 92 cal, so I'll take the trade off.

Dinner wasn't bad. Got home late, walked the dog, railed a bunch of poker bloggers in a tournament, and vacuumed around the house. By this point, it was getting later, so I killed my extra nibble time. I had a Celeste frozen pizza for one (Zesty four cheese) for 440 cal. Not too bad, all things being equal. After that, I also had some chips and salsa that added approximately 250 cal. Meh.

Dinner - 690 cal.

All told, I ingested 1736 calories. This is the first time (yesterday notwithstanding) that I consumed less than 2000 calories, in many years. Not to gross anyone out, nothing seemed to stay in my system long, so this might actually be a significant drop. I started off at 278.8 lbs. The morning weigh in should be interesting.

I be illin'

5/3 - 280.4 lbs and 39.5% bf. Yup. Purging myself of everything I'd consumed in the previous 24 hours netted a 3 pound drop. BF went up, but I attribute that to a lack of hydration. I think that's what my sister said causes that. Had a Healthy Choice Chicken Noodle soup for lunch (220 cal), and gf thought I needed some roughage for dinner so we went to Souplantation. Maybe 1000 cal there, I don't know. Either way, I was in and out of the bathroom all day, so anything I ate didn't hang around long. We'll see what Thursday holds.

5/2

5/2 - 283.0 lbs and 35.2% bf. Day started off ok. Breakfast and oatmeal (no croissant - w00t!) for 370 cal. Staff meeting all morning. Had to blast up to Riverside for a quick meeting. Had some Chef Boyardee R/F ravioli for 380 cal. Couldn't help myself and had a Taco Bell Chicken Caesar Grilled Burrito for another 670 cal. Did my meeting. Had the nibbles driving home and actually hit McDonalds for some fries. I haven't had fries in months! They tasted good, but I don't think my system can handle that much grease anymore. I was dying by the time I got back to the office, and was in and out of the bathroom for the remainder of the day. GF had a crappy day, so I passed up on the gym (wasn't feeling up to it anyway) to take her out to dinner. Yes I still wasn't feeling well, but going out to eat makes her happy so...

We go to this (seems to be a California thing) health-mex place in La Jolla. I had the shrimp fajitas, figuring that those were as safe as anything. That place absolutely rocked! Of course I still wasn't feeling well, but I don't think it was from the fajitas. I spent the evening engaging in reverse consumption. Helluva weight loss plan. Next post will reveal how beneficial driving the porcelain bus can be.

5/1

5/1 - 284.4 lbs and 36.0% bf. The day started off scary, but I did ok. Instant breakfast drink, and then a ham/cheese croissant. Evil good. Must kill muffin man that comes thru our offices. That gave me 690 cal to start the day. Mid morning I had some pickles, for an additional 20 cal. Next, lunch consisted of a Lean Pocket (290 cal), and some Campbells Select Chicken Noodle Soup (180 cal). I caved into the chocolate demons, and had an oreo cookie ice cream bar. Surprisingly only 260 cal. Some reduced fat wheat thins (130) cal as a snack. Dinner was a Celeste frozen pizza (400 cal) and some chips and salsa (approx 300 cal). All told, under 2300 cal. Not great (I think to maintain my weight (ha ha ha) I have to have around 3000 cal), but in the not too distant past I was logging 3600 calorie days regularly. I've got a ways to go, but progress is progress.

Weekend Update

4/29 - 284.8 lbs. and 36.0% bf. So I go have a nice steak and lose a half a pound. Hmmmm. Didn't make it to the gym, but had a nice, hour-plus aerobic workout with the doggie. Then spent the day running errands. Had healthy, ghetto Mex food for lunch, and a bunch of tapas for dinner, at this killer Asian-Fusion place called Roppongi. For those who don't know what tapas are, they are basically "appetizer for one" size portions of finger foods or other assorted appetizers. We ordered a sushi roll, kung pao calamari (not deep fried), this lump crab and artichoke dip, and shrimp and scallop pot stickers. As a side note, we saw the movie, United 93. Absolutely incredible! An amazing portrayal of the events of September 11, 2001, and the passengers on Flight 93 who kept their plane from hitting Washington, DC. I literally was gripping my seat handles as the passengers were planning their attack on the hijackers. There really was no politicizing of the movie, just a seemingly accurate retelling of the events of 9-11. I absolutely recommend that movie.

4/30 - 283.8 lbs. and 36.4% bf. Guess the tapas did their job. Long walks with the doggie. Spent the day walking around. There was an Art Walk street fair in San Diego's Little Italy district, and me and the gf spent the afternoon walking around. Got sunburned for the first time this year. I also did some walking around while the Jeep was being detailed. Because of the Art Walk, breakfast got lost in the mix, and morphed into an early lunch. GF and I split a Caesar salad and some penne pasta rustica (tomato sauce with peppers and sausage). Dinner was at Fuddruckers for veggie burgers with all the trimmigns. We'll see what the tale of the scale says in the morning.